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Written Question
Research
Friday 11th November 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support the UK’s research and development sector.

Answered by George Freeman

At the 2021 Spending Review, the Government announced an increase in public expenditure on R&D, including a commitment to £20 billion per annum by 2024/2025.

R&D investment supports delivery of the Innovation Strategy, by creating the conditions to grow private sector investment. To develop R&D strengths across the country, Government is increasing domestic public investment in R&D outside the Greater South East by at least 40% by 2030. We have also committed £800 million to the Advanced Research and Invention Agency, a new science and research funding agency, to fund research that will develop new technologies.


Written Question
Post Offices: ICT
Thursday 3rd November 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to support postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is providing substantial funding to help Post Office give postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal the compensation they deserve.

Post Office is negotiating compensation with wrongly convicted postmasters, paying interim compensation of up to £100,000; as of 17 October, £7.6 million has been paid.

The Government is funding additional compensation to those non-convicted postmasters who took Post Office to the High Court. As of 24 October, interim payments of £15.9 million had been made.

The Historical Shortfall Scheme is compensating other non-convicted postmasters. As of 26 October, offers totalling £57 million had been made to 85% of eligible HSS claimants.


Written Question
Business: Energy
Tuesday 1st November 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to support businesses with their energy bills.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme was announced on 21 September 2022 to provide a discount on energy bills for all eligible non-domestic customers, including businesses, whose current gas and electricity prices have been significantly inflated in light of global energy prices. The scheme will initially run for 6 months covering energy use from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023 and will help support growth, prevent unnecessary insolvencies and protect jobs.


Written Question
Foreign Investment in UK
Wednesday 13th July 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress his Department has made on securing business investment in the UK.

Answered by Jane Hunt

The Government has worked to secure internationally mobile, transformative investment projects in sectors across the economy, supporting the delivery of key Government priorities. In March, Australian Investors announced £28.5 billion of investments for clean energy, technology and infrastructure. In addition, the Government has provided further support to attract significant investment in manufacturing, including delivering Britishvolt’s £1.7 billion Gigafactory in Blythe Valley which will support 3,000 direct jobs and a further 5,000 across the supply chain. The Government has further worked to secure over £80 million R&D investment by Smith and Nephew into their manufacturing facility near Hull.


Written Question
Nuclear Power
Wednesday 13th July 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to deliver new and advanced nuclear power in the UK.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government intends to take one project to Final Investment Decision (FID) this Parliament and two projects in the next Parliament, subject to value for money, approvals and technology readiness.

The Government will set up a new flagship body - ‘Great British Nuclear’ - to develop a resilient pipeline of projects. The Government appointed Simon Bowen to lead and help develop government proposals for this body.

On the 13th of May 2022, the Government launched a Request for Information for the £120million Future Nuclear Enabling Fund. This fund will provide targeted support to potential new and advanced nuclear projects seeking to enter the UK nuclear market.


Written Question
Wind Power
Wednesday 30th March 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of off-shore wind to increasing the security of the UK’s energy supply.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Offshore wind will play a key role in helping the UK decarbonise its power system by 2035, achieving net zero and providing secure, domestically generated energy. The UK currently has 11GW installed, generating enough electricity to power every home in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland twice over, with a further 8.5GW in construction. The Government has an ambitious target of 40GW by 2030 including 1GW of floating wind. The Government also anticipates further rapid expansion of both fixed and floating offshore wind through the 2030s and beyond. The Government will publish a British Energy Security Strategy shortly, which will set out how the UK will become more self-sufficient and reduce reliance on imported oil and gas.


Written Question
Nuclear Power
Tuesday 29th March 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the UK’s nuclear power generation industry to strengthen energy security for the UK.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Nuclear power generated in the UK plays a critical role in the UK’s energy system. It provides low-carbon baseload power and reduces reliance on fossil fuels and exposure to volatile global prices. In 2020, nuclear power stations generated 16% of the electricity generated in the UK.

In the Net Zero Strategy, published in October 2021, the Government announced a new £120 million Nuclear Enabling Fund to provide targeted support to address barriers to entry for future nuclear. The Government will also publish a roadmap for new nuclear in 2022.


Written Question
Energy Supply
Tuesday 29th March 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the contribution of North Sea oil and gas to energy security.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is committed to the UK offshore oil and gas sector, which continues to keep people warm, fuel their cars and strengthen the country’s energy security.

UK-produced gas met nearly half of the UK’s domestic gas consumption in 2020. The North Sea Transition Deal recognises the important role that gas will play as the UK economy transitions from one based on fossil fuels towards one based on clean energy.


Written Question
Post Offices: ICT
Tuesday 29th March 2022

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support sub-postmasters seeking to overturn criminal convictions relating to the Horizon IT scandal.

Answered by Paul Scully

The Government is keen to see that all postmasters whose convictions are overturned are fairly compensated as quickly as possible and will work with Post Office towards this goal. Amounts of compensation will be settled by Post Office engaging with individual claimants or their representatives.

Postmasters seeking to have their convictions quashed must apply directly through the Courts before compensation payments can be made. Post Office is working with the Courts and the CCRC to progress appeals as quickly as possible.

The Government is providing the funding required for Post Office to support settlements with postmasters whose convictions have been quashed. This funding includes making interim compensation payments of up to £100,000 to all eligible postmasters who were wrongly convicted. So far, 66 postmasters have received offers for interim payments, and as of the time of writing, all but one of these have been paid.


Written Question
Post Offices: ICT
Wednesday 26th May 2021

Asked by: Jonathan Lord (Conservative - Woking)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that sub-postmasters wrongly convicted as a result of faults in the Horizon IT system receive (a) justice and (b) compensation.

Answered by Paul Scully

The Government understands the serious impact that issues arising from faults with the Horizon IT system, and the Post Office’s management of these issues, have had on affected postmasters’ lives and livelihoods. This is why it is vital that postmasters affected by Horizon get the compensation and justice they deserve.

We welcome the decisions taken by the Court of Appeal and Crown Courts to overturn convictions - 47 to date. We are keen to see that all postmasters whose convictions are overturned are fairly compensated as quickly as possible and we are working with Post Office towards this goal. Post Office will be engaging with the postmasters in the first instance to understand what redress they are seeking.

It is the courts’ responsibility to decide whether convictions are overturned. The Criminal Cases Review Commission is continuing to consider applications made by postmasters to have their convictions quashed. Government will continue to closely monitor the Post Office’s work on addressing the issues identified by Justice Fraser.